Government internship.. over and out !!

Hello for the final time everyone!

So it is with great sadness that I end my placement at the Department of Sport and Recreation today but on the plus side I have applied for a graduate position here so here's hoping for a good result !

By the sounds of it, everyone has enjoyed their placements, have made some valuable connections and possibly even secured ongoing future employment. I certainly know I tick 2 out of these 3 boxes.. So far :)

The last few weeks have been a bit hectic and with the uni workload towards end of semester I almost feel as if I have been coming in here to relax which is hardly the case with the report I have been working on!

Alas, I am a firm believer that crisis brings out the best in people and I have certainly learned how to multi-task among other things as a result of being placed here.

I have covered the majority of my placement details in previous entries so I will simply list some of the more important lessons I have learnt as a result of working within a Government department.

1. Government workers are happy workers. With a mixture of flexi-time and 9 day fortnights, the people here have a terrific work/life balance. My supervisor for example has a young child and a husband who works shift work with the fire department. As a result, she can change the times and days she works on a daily basis if need be to make sure someone always looks after their girls.

2. Benefits! I have had two massages, a yoga lesson, played frisbee, cricket, soccer and football all in the time I have been here and during my lunch break if I didn't feel like sampling the fine coffees and food that Leederville offer, there is a huge screen with foxtel on it in the staff room.

3. Meetings and morning teas! There are those times when you just can't get motivated, no matter how hard you try. For those times, there are always staff up-skilling seminars or meetings on that provide a wealth of information and interesting case studies (as well as coffee, gourmet sandwiches and other nice treats)

4. The importance of people capital: The people here work hard and are treated accordingly. You can take 5 and lie in a bean bag, watch some television, chat to your colleagues, read a book etc. Being the representative body for sport and recreation, people are encouraged to be active and not just sit at a computer all day. So, there are initiatives in place that remind people to meet someone new and do some stretching at the same time. Meeting new people is a great way to network too, you would be surprised at who some of your random colleagues know!

I could go on guys, but I will leave it there and continue on with this final report !

Take care everyone, hope to see you in the industry around Perth soon!

Kieran Vanpraag

State Government Internship - part 3

A very good afternoon to you all..

As is the case with probably all of you, I have found that this semester has just disappeared before I knew it and here I am working on my final assessment piece before end of year exams.. Wow.. 3 year degree almost done!

Now to business :)

The internship role has continued to keep me on my feet at the department of sport and recreation and since my last post there have been some interesting developments.

The most important of all is that I have seen and discussed initial architect impressions for the new netball stadium, rectangular stadium and the proposed improvements to ME stadium too.

Major discussions for these projects in my department are addressing the key concerns for local community stakeholders; primarily the fact that many local streets will need to be closed off for lengthy periods of time so that heavy machinery, trucks, earthworks etc can commence.

I guess this takes me back to the first of my pr units that emphasize the point of being proactive and organising everything in a timely manner. Despite the fact that many of these works will not occur for a few more years, it is interesting to see that in the real world workplace, locals will be informed of these developments a considerable amount of time in advance to reduce uncertainty and keep everyone informed of the progress. By keeping on side with the local community, the government can commence the projects on time while also addressing key concerns of the local people and how this will impact their lives.

If all goes well and I can secure a graduate position here, there will be a considerable chance that I may get to work on community relations projects in relation to these projects so here's hoping!

Oh well, back to it!

Hope everyone is doing great..

Kieran

State Government Intern Program - Part II

Another big hello to my fellow PR buddies,

I hope that all of your workplace experiences are going as well as mine :)

I am almost half way through my time here at the Department of Sport and Recreation and it has absolutely flown by!

To give you all an indication of what I am doing here, I can sum it up in one word.. Research !

The Department of Sport and Recreation are currently up to stage five of a five stage program designed to get more people active in their communities, whether it be through sporting team participation, volunteering, umpiring etc.

At present, I have been scouring the internet, looking for previously implemented strategies (worldwide, national and local) to grab the attention of younger people to get more active in their communities and I have found some very interesting research. Ideas from offering students discounts on their university studies if they join a local group to establishing a passport system that allows people to showcase a portfolio to future employers of where they have volunteered are just two of many ideas I have found so far.

The state government has just allocated my particular section, called "Sport for all" a five year payment plan totalling $6million, or $1.2million per year which is going to come in very handy to pursue our strategies and projects.

There are also alarming trends between children and obesity as well as older generations and lack of social interaction, and we are trying to address these and many other issues too. It is quite exciting to be here, especially now with the government grant!

Everyone is very active here and only a few people commute to work by car which really shows that the staff live by the ethos of the department they work for and keep active.

Just to rub it in a little bit, I thought I should share some (not all) of the benefits I have while working here.

1. Free yoga classes, massages, walking groups at lunch
2. As much sporting equipment as you could ever need. (At lunch I will quite often grab a football, walk onto Leederville Oval (it adjoins our building) and kick a few goals with the guys!)
3. Free ergonomic assessment; you get fitted out for proper seating, foot rests, arm rests, fitness balls if you need them (very comfortable now!).

Everyone is very happy to work here and it definately shows.

Well, back to work for me but look forward to reading some more developments in all of your placements!

Kieran Vanpraag